Ian Ference's 3D blog on all things stereographic, from classic scopes & stereoviews to historical context & modern analysis
1933 in the finest borough of the greatest city in America is brought to life, in sepia-toned 3D in a rare strip from Tru Vue. See the Williamsburg Bank Building without neighboring skyscrapers; the first Brooklyn Public Library's original main branch building; an elevated train line through the center of the borough - and more - all in stereo pairs & anaglyphic 3D!
This dramatic Kilburn stereoview of a train climbing Mt. Washington is very dramatic - and very silly, when you realize that the camera was tilted to make the incline look much steeper than it was in reality. And it gets weirder - because at least 3 variants were printed, with the same series number!
An amateur set containing 7 views from the Great War: 3 of an ambulance convoy leaving to pick up the wounded of Champagne, 3 of a convoy at Saint-Mesmes, and one of soldiers camped in a small village (probably the latter).
In 1935, neither the phrase nor the concept of "politically correct" was in existence. Nowhere is this more evident than in this set of 14 stereoviews from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus - in this case, the Greatest Freak Show on Tru Vue 3D.
In which we look at 11 slides from the second box of the Puthon Collection, get into some more rugged mountaineering, sit at a picnic table with a telescope looking over Mont Blanc, and more!
Two glass plate negatives from the 1937 Exposition Internationale in Paris, taken from roughly the same position, give a window into the history of the Expo, as well as some of the underlying tensions that were coming to a boil in advance of the Second World War.
4 "digital prints" from negatives of life in the camp of the 36th Artillery Regiment stationed in Saint Airy Forest at Verdun in January 1918 show snowbound soldiers near one's shelter - as well as a peek into the shelter itself!
After the shoulder strap broke on a dress during a usually-innocent dance routine, Gypsy Rose Lee was propelled into the world of burlesque - where she became one of its most legendary performers. Here she is in wonderful 3D!
In this post, I explain the methodology I came up with for making high-quality digital reproductions of Tru Vue stereographic film rolls without cutting the film up or damaging the emulsion in any way.
Since someone recently told me that it was "impossible" to properly digitize Tru Vue 3D photographic reels, I went ahead and digitized #809, "Petrified Forest and Painted Desert" - and they actually turned out pretty great! Here are all 14 images as stereo pairs & anaglyphs.